Faux Finishing Techniques: Feather Dusting

by Pat & Jackie Baxter

1. Apply desired base coat over properly prepared walls.
   
   
2. Spread feathers apart and shake out the duster to remove excess feathers. (Use a good quality feather duster that won't bleed color. Remember dusters are not always colorfast because they are designed to dust with, not to paint.)
   
   
3. Dip the duster in the glaze and dab it off on cardboard. (Use back side of colored boxes or plain corrugated cardboard for this step.)
   
   
4. Dab duster on the wall. Touch the wall farther apart and fill in between those areas as you continue.
   
   TIPS: Keep the contrast low between the basecoat color and the color being feathered on.
   
   Keep your feather dusting to one color or one color with metallic/pearl for better results. Too many colors can get very busy faster than you'd expect.
   
   It takes 4 or 5 dusters per color to do an average 10 x 10 room. If you move slowly or dip too often, you'll use more dusters.
   
   You cannot cut the tops of the duster to get more use out of it or wash them out and reuse them, so make sure you buy enough dusters to finish your project.